Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 28 Review

All good things must come to an end.

I could be such a jerk with this review. After reading twenty-seven volumes, you're anxiously awaiting this final volume of the Rurouni Kenshin saga, wondering what happens. Who lives? Who dies? Where do their lives go from here? And here I sit, having read it, holding the ultimate knowledge at my fingertips. Yes, I could be a real jerk, but instead I'm just going to leave it like this:

And they all lived happily ever after.

Yep. Sorry. That's all you get.

Come on, there's no way I'm going to tell you how this story ends, after you've invested the time and money to read all the volumes leading up to this ending. Sure, you may know the anime, and you probably can find a fansub out there, but for the few, the proud, the collectors of this series, it'd be a crime to not let you find out for yourself. Personally, I think you'll be satisfied. Storylines are resolved, we find out how most of the supporting cast ended up, and Watsuki-san provides a couple afterwords talking about what he would probably have done to continue the series, commenting at one point that "This is the story that pops into my head, but I will probably never do a manga about it."

To say Kenshin is a must-read for any manga fan is a no-brainer. What more do you want? You've got a timeless tale in a classic setting. You've got compelling, interesting characters that run the gamut from comical to diabolical. You have a hero who belongs in any top ten of manga heroes. Watsuki-san's artwork is no secret to fans of the series, and Viz has done a great job with the translation. If you haven't started this series, there's no better time than now. If you're a devoted follower, this is the book you've been waiting for. Then again, if you hate seeing things end, maybe it isn't.

The Kenshin part of the story ends about midway through this book, so a short story called "Meteor Strike", created while Watsuki-san was working on Ruro-Ken, is a pretty entertaining read. There's also a preview of his more recent work, Buso Renkin, a reprint of the section that recently appeared in the American version of Shonen Jump. In addition, be sure to take the time to read the asides, afterwords and outtakes from the creator. If you ever thought the life of a manga-ka was all fun and happiness well, considering he's talking about playing video games and buying toys, maybe it is!

In a period in comics where creators miss deadlines or simply desert projects and think nothing of it, it is cause to celebrate when a creator is able to take his or her work through to completion. While it's a bittersweet thing to come to the end of a story like this, it's also something to appreciate. Nobuhiro Watsuki says it better than I can: " Watsuki hopes Rurouni Kenshin has a long life in a corner of your bookshelf If it becomes like the manga Watsuki bought during his childhood which still remains on his bookshelf, there could be no greater happiness."